The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(PCAOB) and the Accounting and Auditing Institute (Instituto de
Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas) of Spain have entered into an
agreement to oversee audit firms subject to both Spanish and US
regulations.
The agreement has immediate effect and allows
joint inspections to be conducted this year. It also allows the
exchange of confidential information between the PCAOB and the
Spanish regulator.
It is the fourth agreement signed with a
European Union member state.
PCAOB already has cooperative arrangements
with regulators in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany as well as
with the non-EU member states Switzerland and Norway.
There are16 audit firms located in Spain
currently registered with the PCAOB and more than 900 worldwide,
spanning 88 jurisdictions.
